We live in an age where we are instructed to have empathy and compassion for every form of social deviancy and for every criminal miscreant under the theory that all values are relative and no person can judge another person.

Seminal minds tell us that criminals were socialized by circumstances into becoming "outlaws." Indeed, "bad boys" are touted in women's magazines as being sexually desirable for dating purposes. Today's "bad boy" may have been yesterday's sociopath, but, hey, who's keeping track any longer?

No one wants to be accused of the ultimate liberal crime of insensitivity. We have been instructed, repeatedly, to be nonjudgmental in the face of every untoward attack on our culture, our values — indeed on our very way of life. People fear going out at night, given the level of criminality one encounters even in a grocery store parking lot.

Yet, despite all of this, and despite the steady breakdown of civility and social order, many well-intentioned Americans now possess an abject fear of harmless physical objects because they are guns and they symbolize violence. Well, West Point and the entire military establishment, including the Pentagon, stand for violence.

The violence they symbolize can be summed up as follows: An attack on the United States or its citizenry will result in a great deal of violence being meted out to the aggressor. Is that not the sort of violence we pay billions in tax dollars for? I assumed we were paying for this show of violent reprisal capability to keep us all safe.

Granted, all weapons are horrible. The thought of one person taking the life of another is unbearable. But man's inhumanity to man is part of life. Not everyone is a pacifist. I assume bad people in the world are willing to kill me, should circumstances lend themselves to it.

Given that fact, guns become a reassuring presence because I know I might be lucky enough to kill my assailant before he kills me. I am acutely aware that we do not have a cop on every corner. I am not afraid to defend myself.

However, that is not the reality of how things are done today. Fistfights, broken noses, chipped teeth and black eyes are so 1950s. The modern-age bad guy wears designer clothes and could not fight his way out of a paper bag. He would rather shoot you or stab you, thus negating the possibility of you hitting back. They used to call these people "punks," but I assume that a social scientist, somewhere, has declared that word to be insensitive.

Every citizen has the right to defend himself against violent criminals. The Second Amendment states: "A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed."

The first clause, mentioning the militia, is what constitutional scholars refer to as a subordinate clause. The second clause, mentioning the people, is the primary clause. The framers could have drafted it as follows: "The right of militia members to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed."

But when our Constitution says "the people," it means the people. It does not mean the states or the militia. Title 10, Section 311 of the U.S. Code states, "The militia of the United States consists of all able-bodied males 17 years of age and under 45 years of age."

Founding Father George Mason wrote: "Who are the militia? They consist now of the whole people, except a few public officers." According to Patrick Henry, "The great object is that every man be armed ... Everyone who is able may have a gun."

What happened recently at the RCN studio, where the "Pennsylvania Crossfire" show was canceled because one of the guests brought inoperative guns to display on the program, involved a setback to the First Amendment rights of the show's participants.

Sadly, a discussion about the Second Amendment ended up in a rebuke to the First Amendment. I am certainly not opposed to some types of gun control, but such laws must be viewed with the same level of strict scrutiny that is applied when reviewing restrictions on the First Amendment right of free speech.

Donald P. Russo, an attorney with law offices in Bethlehem, was a regular commentator on "Pennsylvania Crossfire." His email address is russolaw35@gmail.com.